"Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

War on Terrorism

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Coalition Killed 10 Senior ISIL Leaders in December

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, December 29, 2015 — A high-value Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant leader killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes Dec. 24
was just one of 10 ISIL leaders targeted and killed so far this month, Combined
Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren
confirmed today.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via a live satellite
feed from Baghdad, Warren said Syria-based Charaffe al Mouadan was “planning
additional attacks against the West,” and was directly linked to Abdelhamid
Abaaoud, leader of the cell responsible for the terrorist attacks in Paris last
month.

The ISIL leaders were killed in coalition airstrikes that
took place from Dec. 7-27, he said, noting that several were external attack
planners linked to the Paris attacks.

‘Striking at the Head of the Snake’

“In addition to our tactical operations, we are also
striking at the head of this snake by hunting down and killing ISIL leaders,”
Warren said.

Warren also provided descriptions of the other nine deceased
ISIL leaders:

-- Rawand Dilsher Taher, an external operations facilitator;
and Khalil Ahmad Ali al-Wais, also known as Abu Wadhah of Kirkuk province,
Afghanistan. Taher, killed Dec. 7 near Raqqah, Syria, was a trusted ISIL member
who assisted with command and control and handling and transferring money and
equipment. Abu Wadhad, the ISIL emir of Kirkuk province had a long history of
targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces, and he was killed Dec. 7 near Huwayjah, Iraq.

-- Akram Muhammad Sa'ad Faris, also known as Akram Aabu, an
ISIL commander and executioner, was killed Dec. 12 near his base of operations
in Tal Afar, Iraq.

-- Abdel Kader Hakim, another ISIL external operations
facilitator, was killed Dec. 26 in Mosul, Iraq. Hakim was a veteran fighter and
forgery specialist who had links to the Paris attack network, who also was part
of ISIL’s external operations group who enabled attacks against Western
targets. “His death removes an important facilitator with many connections in
Europe,” Warren said.